Inchidoney and Sherkin Island, Co. Cork

Common Vetch Vicia sativa Peasair chapaill Family: Fabaceae Flowering time: April-September. Annual. Introduced. The pink-purple or bi-coloured flowers are solitary or pairs in leaf-axils. Ripe seedpods are black, smooth, usually hairless. Upper leaflets little narrower than lower, tendrils usually branched. Straggling ridged stems. Very variable with several subspecies recognised. Height to 1m Widespread on disturbed arable and waste ground, roadsides, shingle beaches and sandy coastal soils Vicia sativa subsp. segetalis is the most frequent subspecies. Narrow-leaved Vetch, V. sativa subsp. nigra and subsp. sativa are both rare

Common Vetch, Vicia sativa, Peasair chapaill